NDP MLA Anne Kang was appointed to lead the Ministry of Post-Secondary Affairs and Future Skills on November 18.
This is Kang’s second time serving as Minister of Post-Secondary Affairs, which she first held between November 2020 and December 2022. Kang was then appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs — a role she held until now.
Kang is also a UBC alumna and completed a bachelor of music in 1999, a bachelor of education in 2001 and a master of education in special education in 2005. She was first elected to the legislative assembly in 2017.
Kang’s return to the post-secondary file will have her play a part in a number of issues affecting UBC, including degree quality assurance, StudentAid BC, labour market development, sexual violence prevention and the provincial government’s Tuition Limit Policy.
Kang’s ministry is also responsible for post-secondary operating grants and issues annual budget letters to each of the province’s 25 public university administrations regarding the financial direction of their institutions.
Twenty-seven other NDP MLAs, including Premier David Eby, comprise the new cabinet, which was sworn in by Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin at Government House in Victoria. Each received an “appointment letter” from the premier, which included brief portfolio-specific goals, but Eby wrote in the letter ministers can expect to see a specific mandate letter issued to them in the coming weeks.
In a press conference following the swearing-in ceremony, Eby explained the absence of mandate letters as a result of the government’s slim majority in the past election and ongoing conversations to secure the support of the BC Green Party.
“For the detailed mandate letters, we're making sure to do two things. One is to listen to and prioritize British Columbians and their voices. We were sent here, certainly with [a] majority government. But it's a narrow majority, and we're going to work with all British Columbians to ensure that we're delivering for them on these key priorities,” said Eby.
Eby’s letter also says the government intends to centre reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and describes the fight against the climate crisis as an “essential” part of their mandate.
When Kang first became Minister of Post-Secondary Affairs four years ago, her mandate letter included instructions to make progress on expanding the BC Access Grant program, keeping tuition fee increases low, building 8,000 new student housing units, conducting a funding review of post-secondary education operating grants and supporting “emerging industries” in the province.
Kang’s immediate predecessor Lisa Beare — who took over after former minister Selina Robinson stepped down this February amid two separate scandals and calls to resign from various groups, including the Canadian Association of University Teachers — was asked to work on many of the same goals.
Earlier this year, the government received an open letter from the BC Federation of Students — which represents 14 other university student unions but not the AMS — that made 5 calls to action on post-secondary policy. This included a call to limit international student tuition increases to two per cent per year, which would be aligned with the limit for domestic students under the current policy. Kang faced protests during her first stint as minister that called for the same increase in protections for international students but did not commit to amending the policy.
Disclosure: Spencer Izen is advocating to the Ministry of Attorney General to introduce legislation to protect secondary school student journalists.
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